Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Conflict Transformation Initiative’s (CTI) three most prominent loyalist employees have all stood down from their posts. Ex-UDA prisoners Billy “Twister” McQuiston and Colin Halliday along with loyalist spokesman and former CTI project director Frankie Gallagher left their posts as of April 1. Job advertisements are expected to run this week to find replacements for the three top loyalists who are all members of the UDA-aligned Ulster Political Research Group. All three have since taken up new ‘peace and reconciliation’ roles. It is understood they are being paid salaries funded by EU peace initiatives. The SDLP said yesterday it believed the funding had been granted through the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.